


When the Fog Rolls In

by bluetoast



Series: Winter of Discontent [1]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dance, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Kylo Ren Needs a Hug, Married Life, Mentions of Cancer, Rey Kenobi, Rey Needs A Hug, attacked by a creature...metaphorically, everything should be great...but...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-16 07:32:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11249184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluetoast/pseuds/bluetoast
Summary: Rey and Kylo have been married for two years; they're the perfect picture of wedded bliss. They met three years ago, when Rey's life was falling apart and Kylo's was finally getting back together. However, things are about to turn about for both of them - Rey has an audition date in three months - and Kylo has just received the one piece of news he prayed he never would.Written for H/C Bingo - Attacked By Creature





	When the Fog Rolls In

It was a miserably cold rain, ready to shift to ice at the slightest drop of temperature, and with the wind, it'd be there shortly. The sort of weather that kept people at home, or just in places they needed to be, rather than wanted. Rey wrinkled her nose as she pressed her back against the loft's door, then let out a groan of relief at being home. She leaned her umbrella against the wall so it could drip-dry, pulled her rain-boots off, leaving them to do the same on the mat, and then she shrugged out of her slicker, hanging it up on its designated hook. It was early for her to be home, and far too early for Kylo to even think of leaving work. Still, she took her phone out of her purse and fired off a quick text to him.

_Classes canceled on account of impending ice storm. Home safe and sound._

She padded in her sock-feet towards the kitchen, and wasn't even halfway there when her phone buzzed.

_Glad you're home. See you around 6._

It was just after four, and she set the phone on the counter as she prepped the kettle and turned it on. While she waited for the water to heat, she got out her mug, a tea bag and opened the fridge, getting out the lemon-keeper and she covered a yawn. “Should probably start dinner as well.” She rubbed at her temple, trying to remember what was in the freezer that she could toss in the sink to start thawing. She and Kylo usually cooked dinner together, but they hadn't had time to plan out menus this week. They had spent the weekend working on their respective work projects, and, as much as they hated to do it, improvised on their meals the past two days. There was little point in planning the remaining dinners, when the weekend would be here before they knew it. The kettle whistled and she smiled as she filled her mug, already feeling better than she had when she had left work. 

The combination of being home, being out of the rain, and thawing out from the dreariness outside.

When she had first come to Theed three years ago, it was supposed to be temporary. She was there to work as a nanny for a few months before heading back for an audition with the Coruscant Ballet. Then the family she'd been working for went through a rather spectacular divorce, and she'd missed the auditions due to court hearings and legal drama that she got caught up in. She had found a job teaching little girls with tutu dreams of their own, constantly telling herself that it was just for now, and that she'd find her way back to being on stage rather than behind it again.

It was in the middle of all this chaos, before she even had the studio job, that Kylo swept into her life. On what should have been the night following her audition, he found her crying her eyes out into a chocolate milkshake and fries, wishing she had just stayed in Coruscant and taken the job in the local movie theater. He'd listened to her long, lengthy story, offering a tissue at every fresh sob, and when she was done, he'd given her a hug and helped her back to her rented flat. He asked her out for a date two days later, and in the sheer mess her life had been since she came to Theed, he was the one bright spot. They'd been dating all of six months when he asked her to marry him. He was eight years her senior, but she hadn't cared. 

Kylo worked for a medical headhunting company that placed just about everything one could think of in the field. From pharmacy technicians to hospice nurses – and even on occasion did the recruitment for drug trial companies – as he always put it, it was an endless pile of paperwork, emails and phone calls.

She pulled on the tea bag, moving it around in her mug, silently thanking the powers that be for the hundredth time that her students and coworkers were either too young or too wrapped up in their own lives to ask questions. “Oh.” She set her mug down and went back towards the door, going to her dance bag and took out her lunchbox, carrying it into the kitchen. She took the teabag out of the mug and set it on the sink before she unzipped the box and unpacked the dirty containers within. The same lunch she had every day, Monday thru Friday, with little variation. A peanut-butter and jelly sandwich (with no crusts), a piece of fruit, a serving of soup, a handful of cut vegetables – usually baby carrots or peppers, and a juice box. Complete, simple, and filling. Her phone buzzed again as she put her spoon in the dishwasher and she nudged it towards her, scanning the new text from Kylo.

_Don't worry about dinner – picking food up on my way home._

Rey smiled; that almost always meant Kylo was going to stop at the Rice House on his way back. She bit at her bottom lip before answering, her mind already made up on her side.

_Egg rolls instead of crab Rangoon, please._

She knew she had a fifty-fifty shot of which question in regards to her meal Kylo would ask first; and she added some sugar to her tea while she waited for him to answer. If he wasn't going to Rice House, he was stopping at Sarpino's – but having Italian was a rare treat; besides, it was the middle of the week, pizza was a Friday food. Not to mention the coupons for that place were currently wedged under a magnet on the fridge. Her phone buzzed.

_Fried or steamed rice?_

She grinned, even though she knew that this was the sort of dinner that meant he had work to do when he got home, but also acknowledged that she had her own tasks to complete as well. In the middle of the week, it was rare for them to be able to sit down at the table together and enjoy a meal at the same time. Rey took a sip of tea, looking down at her phone, her reply so automatic, she almost wondered why he even bothered asking when Kylo already knew the answer. 

_Fried, please. Drive carefully! Love you!_

Tucking her phone into the front pocket of her hoodie, she took her mug in one hand and gathered up her bag in the other, heading for her studio on the far side of the loft. It'd been cordoned off from the rest of the open space by standing screens that had been plantation shutters in their past life. Kylo had built them for her shortly before she moved in; he'd moved his own work space to the far corner. His was little more than a desk and a chair, but stated that was all he needed. When she'd first seen it, she'd nearly wept at the sight of the two long mirrors mounted on the brick wall, along with the free-standing barre that he'd built to fit her height perfectly. 

She grimaced out the window at the front side of the space, glowering at the rain that had all but intensified. “Don't even _think_ of turning to ice until Kylo's home.”

Rey put her bag down on the floor, then set her mug on the small end table. She sank down in her thinking seat, an overstuffed wing-back chair she'd found in a thrift store and tucked her feet under her as she clasped her mug, letting the warmth infuse her. She supposed to an outsider, her and Kylo's marriage might look wrong. Not just with the age difference, their different upbringings, or the lack of time knowing each other, but in how their home life functioned. She was certain that all of her coworkers would have panic attacks if they found out she did both her own and Kylo's laundry. 

“They wouldn't understand.” She mumbled to herself and took a sip of tea. People who had grown up in homes with parents and expectations – she actually _enjoyed_ doing the laundry. It was such a simple task and the gesture of doing it spoke volumes. “It's just laundry.” She sighed and fixed her gaze on the long streaks of rain on the glass. It was a domestic thing for the two of them – and she thrived on doing it. Kylo could and would fix anything broken in their home, did the dishes, took out the trash, and honestly, he'd stated more than once that it was a feeling of accomplishment. 

Growing up in a house with just her grandfather and, once she was a teenager, his nurse, she'd not had the whole family routine that so many people seemed to take for granted. Kylo had been a latch-key kid from the time he was ten, and even before then had been baby-sat by a rotating cast of caretakers, while both of his parents worked. According to him, even when his parents were home, it wasn't like they were actually _there_. She hadn't met either of her in-laws, despite being with Kylo for three years and married for almost two. Then again, it did spare them asking when the two them were going to make said in-laws grandparents. The only member of Kylo's family had met was his uncle, who taught Philosophy at Theed University. 

She looked into her half-empty mug and let out a sigh. “I wonder if his parents call and I just don't know.” She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, willing herself to relax. Her mind was a jumble of the school's upcoming production of _The Nutcracker_ , the weather, and the date fixed in her mind; February seventh. The date of the open audition for Cirque du Soleil, and she was determined to be in shape and be ready to claim her place in their extensive databank. Rey hadn't told Kylo about the audition yet; she was still trying to come up with the best way to bring it up. She was running out of time. “This weekend. No more delays.” 

*

Kylo adjusted his hold on the takeout bag, watching as the numbers on the elevator clicked slowly upward. The weather was on the brink of turning flat-out ugly, and he knew it would only get nastier as winter swept into Theed. He hooked his umbrella on his other wrist and dug his keys from his coat pocket as the elevator doors opened and he made his way down the corridor, his body already relaxing. 

He unlocked the door of the loft, setting the bag of food down on the bench as he closed it behind him. “I'm home.” He called, and somewhere, out of sight, he heard a chair thump and as he was pulling off his messenger bag, Rey appeared, wearing an oversized t-shirt and yoga pants. “Someone's been dancing again.”

“Hi.” She came forward and kissed his cheek, then took the bag of take-out while he put his umbrella next to hers.“I just wanted to work out the day's soreness. You'll feel better too, once you've dried out.” 

He chuckled as he pulled off his coat and hung it up, removed his shoes and placed them next to hers, stepping around the few wet spots he'd left when he'd come inside. “That rain is going to be ice any second, if it hasn't already since I left the parking garage. The roads were slick, and the salt trucks should be out in full force soon, and I'm extremely grateful that there's no large hills between our respective work places and here.” 

“Well, we're inside where it's warm and dry.” She reached up and kissed his chin. “Glad you're home.” 

Kylo pressed a kiss on her forehead. “So am I.” He took up his bag and the two of them went into the kitchen, Rey setting the take-out bag on the counter while he took out his lunchbox and put the dirty containers in the dishwasher. “How was work?”

“Getting ready for auditions for the holiday show.” She took two bowls down from the cupboard and set them next to the take-out. “And mentally preparing myself for an onslaught of stage moms who all think their child deserves to be a star. Just because the main character, Clara, is eleven years old, it doesn't mean an eleven-year old gets to perform the part.” She ducked her head as she started to unpack the food. “How was your day?”

“Long, and I have a stack of things to finish. Condensing a pile of new resumes into the database, since people are getting ready to graduate in December.” He got out a mug and filled it with hot water for his own tea. “What's your to-do list for the rest of November look like?”

“Choreograph the Christmas Party in the first act of the _Nutcracker_ , and I was informed I should be prepared to work late both the day before and the day after Thanksgiving.” He saw her glance back at him. “We don't have plans, do we?”

He chuckled as he dropped the bag of tea into his mug and came over to hug her, pressing his face into her hair. “Not as of yet. Although it might be nice to just spend the long weekend in bed.” He trailed a hand down her back, moving his lips down to kiss her ear, then leaned over to nuzzle her neck. “Although if the well-meaning grandmotherly receptionist at work finds out we have no plans, we may end up eating at her house on the actual holiday.” He went back for his tea, reluctant as he was to end the contact with her. Kylo knew he couldn't avoid the subject forever, but he wanted to cling to this as long as he could. “Hungry?”

Rey chuckled. “I can always eat, you know that.” He heard a drawer open and shut. “What are we having?”

“Curried beef and General Tso, of course.” He tossed the used teabag into the compost trash. “And if you want to split the sides, we can do that. I almost think it'd be better if we always did, so we can each enjoy both.” He leaned against the counter as he took a drink from his mug, watching her serve herself dinner, and she looked back over her shoulder sheepishly as she set an egg roll in her bowl. “Go ahead and take one of rangoons.” He smiled over the rim at her. “Before they get cold. I know you want one.”

She added one to her bowl then pulled one of the sleeves of chopsticks from the bag. “You should eat too.” 

“I want to drink a little more tea first.” He held up his mug. “Besides, I had lunch later than you did.” He let out a breath before taking another sip of tea, keeping his focus on the liquid within, and he heard a soft clunk as Rey set down her bowl. “You don't need to sit in here with me. If you want to retreat back to your corner, that's fine.”

“I've resolved to not eat in my dancing space. I don't like watching myself eat; it's rather like watching an aquarium in a sushi bar. Besides, the view outside is too dreary to induce me to eat if I look the other way.” She answered, and there was a crack as she broke the chopsticks apart. “This smells wonderful.” 

“Rice House is always good.” He took another sip and set the mug down, and watched Rey eat for a few moments, silently hating himself already. The day he met her had been wonderful for so many reasons, and yet, she'd been the one crying her eyes out. It'd been three wonderful years for him – three years he was certain was going to be just the start. That beautiful word, that wonderful word he had clung to and now, just when things seemed to be borderline perfect....

“Is something wrong?” Rey broke the silence. “Or are you just tired? You're usually not so quiet when you get home.” She rested her chopsticks against the bowl. “Kylo?”

He took a drink of tea and set it down, not even sure how to begin. “I had to go in for my yearly checkup today. Remember I told you that this morning at breakfast.” Baby steps, he told himself. Start here.

“I do, and you also reminded me I have a dental appointment next week.” She picked up her egg roll, snapping it in half. “I'm not likely to forget, the dentist's office in the same row of shops as the dance studio.” She shook her head. “I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself.” She took a large bite of her food.

Kylo grasped his mug tightly and swallowed hard, wishing he didn't have to say what he was about to. “My cancer's back.” Rey's chopsticks clattered against the counter and he crossed the small space to set a hand on her arm before she could speak. “I'm going to be _fine_. Doctor Komer says we've caught it early enough that it won't be as bad as the last time.”

“It's still _cancer_.” She hissed, her eyes going wide. “Did you have any idea that you were relapsing?” 

He sighed. “I thought it was exhaustion from overwork. I just kept...” He shook his head. “I've beaten it once, Rey. I can beat it again.” 

She jumped up from her chair and came around the counter to embrace him, and he felt all the tension leave his body as he wrapped his arms around her, pressing his face into her hair. “You should have told me.”

He smiled faintly, chuckling. “I think you have enough to worry about already.” He closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of her shampoo. He kissed her forehead. “Which reminds me.” He pulled one arm free and reached into his back pocket, pulling out a sheet of folded paper. “I got something for you today.” 

“What?” She stepped back, frowning. “Kylo, I don't think that we should...” She took the paper, frowning. “I mean...” He took up his mug and sipped his tea as she unfolded it, and he saw her eyes widen as she looked at it. Knowing what she saw. A printout of a reservation for a flight to Coruscant and hotel booking for the week of the seventh of February. “How...” She looked back at it, and her jaw dropped. “You already know about my audition?”

He chuckled. “You're not the only one who gets the mail, Rey.” He took a sip of tea. “And don't even think of not going, because you are. I can get through a few rounds of chemo and be well on the road to kicking this cancer's ass by February.” He smirked over his mug. “I'm expecting you to wow the judges in February and not just land a spot in their databank, but a spot in their circus camp as well.” 

“You!” She flung her arms around him, sobbing. “I can't believe you!” 

He hugged her tightly, setting the mug back down and holding her close. He hadn't read her mail; but he'd seen the return address on a few envelopes that he was able to figure out what she was up to. He smiled and closed his eyes, already knowing the road in front of him. He already knew he was going to have to call his parents, much as it chagrined him to do so; they would want to know what was going on.

*

Rey couldn't sleep. She had gone to bed at a decent time, just after ten, and now the clock read half-past one. She heard Kylo moving around for a while, doing small, little domestic tasks that were mundane and she'd never given a moment's thought to before. She was already trying to think what she could do to help her husband prepare for his upcoming treatment, when she'd first met him, he'd just been declared in full remission and she could remember the knitted hat he was wearing in the middle of July, pulled down low enough to cover his ears. 

They were going to get through this.

She heard the door to the bedroom slide open and then there was a shift on the bed as Kylo sat down. “I know you're awake.” 

Rey rolled over to face him, watching as he shut the door and went over to his dresser, pushing off his sweatpants. “I wish you'd told me sooner you suspected you were relapsing.” She pushed herself into a sit, and gave him a sharp look. “And you need your rest.”

He chuckled and came over to the bed, sliding under the covers. “I had a few things I needed to take care of. I've already talked to my boss, and I've got a swath of sick-time saved up.” He sighed and fell back against the pillows. “but you're right. I should have told you sooner.” She laid down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. “I didn't want to worry you.”

“I get to worry about you. That's part of the relationship.” She draped her arm over his stomach, swallowing. “When do you start treatment?”

“They want me in on Saturday.” His hand slid under her pajama top and rested on the small of her back. “I know you have work.” 

“Fuck that.” She muttered. “I think my boss can understand if I miss a Saturday. Especially considering the circumstances. We're in this together, Kylo. I distinctly remember a part of our marriage vows that stated _in sickness and in health_. If you think I'm going to go to the studio and teach while you're in the hospital, you're...” She let out a shriek as he pulled her shirt up and latched onto her right nipple, sucking it hard. “What...” She panted, “what do you think you're doing?”

He pulled away and then kissed her forehead, gently, putting her shirt back into place. “Sorry.” He tucked the pillow under his chin. “Good night.” 

She set her hand on his back. “Don't be like that, Kylo.” She moved closer, feeling rather sheepish. “I wasn't with you the last time you were sick from the beginning. I don't know what you're supposed to do and what's not a good idea.” She kissed his neck. “And knowing you, you might do something you shouldn't.” She slid her hands under his t-shirt. “However, if you'd rather just get some sleep, I understand.” 

“Rey.” He turned and pulled on her shirt again, and a moment later, he'd tugged it off and tossed it to the floor. He slid his hands up to cup her breasts, thumbing her nipples. “ _Rey._ ” He helped her pull his shirt off, and then he slid his hands down to hook his thumbs into the waistband of her panties. “I love you.” He pressed his lips to hers, and she let herself sink into the kiss, the lingering taste of his mouthwash sharp on her tongue as she rolled her hips against his.

She rolled the two of them over, so she was straddling him and broke the kiss, smiling down at him. “I love you too.” She kissed him again as he pulled her panties down, and she shifted so he could slide them off and add them to the clothes on the floor, and she tugged on his boxers. “I will _always_ love you.” She leaned down and pressed her lips to the small port scar on his left pectoral as his arms wrapped around her, his own lips pressed against her ear.

“My beautiful Butterfly.” Kylo's hips shifted slightly and she let out a breathy gasp as he entered her. 

No more words were needed then; just the two of them together – that was all that mattered.

Outside, the icy rain shifted to snow.


End file.
